1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to tool selection systems and methods.
2. Background
Planning for the assembly of a vehicle within a manufacturing facility may involve identifying tools to be used during a process. Software may assist with this task. Current software, such as those from Dassault Systems Inc. and UGS, allows a user to manually pick a tool from a list and assign it to a process. For example, the user may assign “XYZ nut runner, 10-35 ft.-lbs., 6″ runner length” to the process “attach wheel to vehicle.” The user identifies the tool to be assigned based on the user's knowledge of the process and the listed capabilities of the tool. Manually identifying tools, however, may be time consuming and inefficient because of the number of tools needed to assemble a vehicle and the user's potentially limited knowledge of the tools within the manufacturing facility.